Printer install problem & upgrade application?

[sandlynx]

I just installed Slackware 13.1, and have a problem installing the printer. It's a parallel port printer, and when I get to the choices, the parallel port option is grayed-out. Why is it grayed-out and how do I make it available?
Also, I got the message "CUPS Service Stopped The CUPS printer spooler does not appear to be running. To correct choose system>Administratiin>Services from the main menu and look for CUPS service. . System is there, but there is no entry for Administration. Nothing anywhere indicating "CUPS service". Where did it disappear to?
I was also looking for the package tool, and none is listed anywhere. Is all this done from the command line in 13.1? I was using 12.0,. and it had a package tool entry on the menu. There is no package tool listed on any part of the menu. I really loved 12.0 because everything worked without a hitch. This 13.1 is one problem after another.
Should I do a re-install? Something is wrong here, and I don't think it's all my ignorance.
Any help would be appreciated.

I decided to do a clean install of a 13.0 DVD I have on hand. It installed and is working flawlessly. What the problem was with 13.1, I don't know. But, I have Slackware up and running and that's all I care about.

[quizno50]

Is all this done from the command line in 13.1?

Almost everything in slackware is done from the command line. I would really learn the commandline way of doing things because it can make life easier in the long run.

It's a parallel port printer, and when I get to the choices, the parallel port option is grayed-out. Why is it grayed-out and how do I make it available?

You didn't really specify where you were looking. Is this in the KDE control center, the CUPS web interface, some command line configuration thingy? A bit more info would be useful.

I decided to do a clean install of a 13.0 DVD I have on hand. It installed and is working flawlessly. What the problem was with 13.1

Sometimes an upgrade can break things (especially older devices like a parallel port printer).
However, I like having the latest and greatest, so give this a try. Post the output of the following commands and we'll see what we can do:

ls -lah /etc/rc.d/

This should show us if the CUPSd is starting at boot.

nmap localhost

This should show us if the CUPSd is running at all.

slackpkg

This should be the package manager in Slackware 13.1 (I can't say for sure as I'm using a heavily stripped down/modified version of Slackware 12 on a netbook).